Sara Duterte on lifestyle checks: It should be done

Vice President Sara Duterte has backed the order of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. to subject all government officials to lifestyle checks amid the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.

In an interview in The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday, Duterte said that the lifestyle checks should include all elected and appointed officials. 

“Dapat lang. At hindi lang ‘yung elected public officials ha, pati ‘yung mga appointed public officials. At hindi lang ‘yung on the surface na sasabihin natin kung ano ‘yung nakalagay sa SALN, dapat deep dive, kung sino yung mga dummy. Ilabas ‘yung mga dummy ng mga public officials,” she said. 

(It should be done, and not just among the elected public officials, but also among the appointed public officials. Also, what’s written in the SALN shouldn’t only be the one scrutinized, but we must deep dive on who the government officials’ dummies are. We should identify the dummies of these public officials.) 

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro earlier announced that Marcos ordered lifestyle checks among all officials, as he emphasized the need for continuous checking of records by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regarding the questionable flood control projects.

Asked who will lead the lifestyle checks, Castro said this would depend on the agencies handling the offices. She mentioned that the Office of the Ombudsman and the Bureau of Internal Revenue could also conduct lifestyle checks. 

Accountability 

Duterte also said that government officials and private contractors behind the anomalous flood control projects should be held accountable. 

“Trabaho ng Commission on Audit na mag-imbestiga. Kung meron silang makita na anomalya sa mga projects, so based on their audit or based sa investigation sa DPWH, kung hindi man dahil sila 'yung iniimbestigahan, based on NBI or special committee ng DOJ na mag-imbestiga, dapat talaga panagutin ‘yung mga public officials at ‘yung mga contractors ng ghost projects at ng substandard projects dahil delikado ‘yun sa mga mamamayan,” the Vice President said.

(It’s the job of the Commission on Audit to investigate. If they find anomalies in the projects based on their audit or based on the investigation of the DPWH, NBI, or a special committee in the DOJ, then the public officials and the contractors of the ghost projects and the substandard projects should be held accountable because what they do puts the public at risk.) 

2024, 2025 national budgets

Duterte also dared the Marcos administration to scrutinize the 2024 and 2025 budgets if it is really serious in fighting corruption. 

She alleged that certain members of the House of Representatives pocketed the budget for the school building program of the Department of Education (DepEd). Duterte was the Education Secretary from 2022 to 2024. 

Asked if she is willing to attend the hearings of the Senate blue ribbon committee into the anomalous flood control projects as a former DepEd chief, Duterte said, “Hindi naman sila humingi ng parte sa amin eh kasi diretso nilang kinuha ‘yung budget.”

(They didn't ask for DepEd’s part because they just directly took the budget.)

“Diretso nilang kinuha ang school building program, ang SVP, at pinaghati-hatian nila sa loob ng House of Representatives. At diniretso nilang in-attach ‘yung listahan nila doon sa…House version ng GAA at inakyat nila sa Senate,” she added. 

(They took the budget for the school building program, the SVP, and divided it among members of the House of Representatives. And they attached their list to the House's version of the [General Appropriations Bill] and submitted it to the Senate.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News